switch wrote:Actually, you do not have to have liability insurance - all you need if proof of financial responsibility.
True, that is what the law requires. There are folks who self-insure.
Back around 1989, my former wife got a ticket for not having "proof of financial responsibility". It was a phrase neither of us had ever heard, but when she asked what that was, the officer just kept repeating the demand for "proof of financial responsibility". If the officer had just asked for insurance, no problem... we had insurance, and could have shown it!
I don't know how it is in Texas, but I've heard of states where they will not back down on a ticket even when you can prove that you had insurance coverage. They treat failing to have the insurance card with you, as bad as not having insurance. Clearly, they're just using that as a revenue source, and aren't concerned with right and wrong.
If someone doesn't have proof of insurance, sure... write the ticket. Let the person jump through the hoops of getting a letter from their insurance company certifying that they were covered at the time, then take it to the court, and get the charge dropped. After all, it's the insurance that's important, not the piece of paper.
By the way, when we move to New Hampshire, we won't be required to have insurance. NH is the only state that doesn't require liability insurance.
We will have it anyway, of course; only a fool would not. Plus, our driving won't be restricted to NH, and even NH residents must have liability coverage when driving in other states.
Conventional wisdom says that more people would be uninsured in NH, so insurance must cost more. Conventional wisdom is wrong -- insurance is considerably cheaper in NH than in most other states.
NH is also the only state that doesn't require adults to wear seatbelts. And, guess what? The seatbelt useage rate is higher than in the neighboring states!
Funny how people make the right choices when they're free to do so.
Kevin